Department for Transport

M1

lord blunkett: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 1 February (HL5019), whether there is now a revised date for concluding the works to be undertaken between Junctions 16 and 19 of the M1 motorway and fully re-opening the motorway.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The section of works between M1 junctions 16 near Northampton and 19 near Rugby will be completed as a smart motorway by the end of December 2017. The entire M1 junctions 13 to 19 scheme will be completed within Highways England’s Delivery Plan target by 2021-2022.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Consumers: Protection

baroness hayter of kentish town: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 9 February (HL Deb, col 1854) stating that his "right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is having regular meetings with consumer representatives", what meetings concerning Brexit have been held, what were the agendas for those meetings and who participated in each meeting.

lord prior of brampton: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy continues to raise consumers in the wide range of meetings he is having with stakeholders. Details of ministerial meetings are published quarterly on the Gov.uk website. For example, on 19 December 2016, the Secretary of State chaired a roundtable with representatives from a range of consumer bodies, charities and academics to discuss, amongst other issues, the impact of EU exit on consumers. Organisations invited to this meeting were: Which?, Citizens Advice, Citizens Advice Scotland, Money Saving Expert, Age UK, Consumer Council Northern Ireland, Chartered Trading Standards Institute, National Trading Standards, Trading Standards Scotland, University of East Anglia, and the University of Oxford.

Product Recalls and Safety Working Group

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 23 January (HL Deb, col 421), which individuals sit on the working group on product recalls and safety; when it first met; when the next meeting is due to take place; and what is the scope and scale of its review.

lord prior of brampton: The Working Group on Product Recalls and Safety was announced by my hon. Friend the Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Corporate Responsibility in October 2016. The Group first met on 1 November 2016. It has subsequently met on 14 December and 8 February and the next meeting is due to take place on 13 March. The Working Group is tasked to develop options to improve the system of product recalls and safety with an immediate focus on recommendations to improve the safety of white goods such as tumble dryers. The Group is chaired by Neil Gibbins, Former Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Devon and Somerset. Membership of the Working Group is drawn from: Association of British Insurers (ABI)Association of Chief Trading Standards Officers (ACTSO)Association of Manufacturers of Domestic Appliances (AMDEA)Baker McKenzie LLPBritish Retail Consortium (BRC)British Standards Institution (BSI)British Toy and Hobby Association (BTHA)Brunel University London (BUL)Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI)Chief Fire Officers’ Association (CFOA)Citizens Advice (CA)Electrical Safety First (ESF)Fire Protection Association (FPA)Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA)Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) More detailed information on the activities of the Working Group, its initial recommendations and meetings notes can be found on the following website https://www.gov.uk/guidance/product-safety-working-group. The Group is due to report back to my hon. Friend in March.



Product Safety Working Group Details
(PDF Document, 34.4 KB)

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Religious Freedom

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they have made in fulfilling their 2015 manifesto commitment to "Stand up for the freedom of people of all religions—and non-religious people—to practice their beliefs in peace and safety, for example by supporting persecuted Christians in the Middle East".

baroness anelay of st johns: It is the Government's policy to promote freedom of religion or belief in all parts of the world where it is challenged or undermined. We do this in many different ways. Through our bilateral work we continue to lobby host governments, to raise individual cases and highlight practices and laws that discriminate against people on the basis of their religion or belief.Multilaterally, we work to sustain consensus on the adoption and implementation of two important Resolutions: the European Union's resolution on 'Freedom of Religion or Belief' and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)'s resolution on 'Combating Religious Intolerance'.We also support a number of projects through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO's) Magna Carta Fund. For example, we continue to support a network of human rights defenders in South Asia.In October 2016, the FCO hosted a groundbreaking international conference to draw attention to the importance of freedom of religion or belief to global efforts to counter violent extremism. In the Middle East, our principal policy designed to prevent the persecution of religious minorities - including Christians - is our support for the international effort to defeat Daesh and return the region to stability and peace.

Religious Freedom

lord oates: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 29 September 2016 (HL1930), whether they will increase spending on projects which promote freedom of religion or belief as a proportion of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Magna Carta Fund from the current level of 6.3 per cent to at least 10 per cent.

baroness anelay of st johns: ​The Foreign and Commonwealth Office uses its Magna Carta Fund to support projects across a wide range of human rights and democracy-building themes, including freedom of religion or belief, which has a prominent place in the Fund's published strategy. For that reason, we welcome the fact that enough strong project proposals have been put forward by our posts and implementing partners to ensure that expenditure under this theme can continue. Project proposals are judged on merit and value for money. We therefore do not have specific targets for the proportion of expenditure dedicated to specific human rights themes.

Department for Education

Schools: Standards

lord kinnock: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they will take to ensure that school spending choices do not put educational outcomes at risk.

lord nash: We want schools to have the resources they need so that every child has access to an education that fulfils their potential. We have protected the core schools budget in real terms overall. This year, it is the largest ever on record, totalling over £40 billion. Evidence shows that high quality teaching is the most important school based determinant of pupil outcomes. We have published Workforce Planning Guidance to support schools to plan over the longer term, as part of regular school improvement, curriculum and financial planning. This is to help ensure that schools are always investing in the right mix of staff, and in high quality professional development, to deliver excellent pupil outcomes. This guidance is available, along with other tools to support schools to improve their financial health and efficiency at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/schools-financial-health-and-efficiency. We have also published a Schools’ Buying strategy to help schools maximise savings from their £10 billion of non-staff spend. This means schools can invest more of their resources in the classroom, making even more of a difference to the children that need it most.

Ministry of Defence

Military Aircraft

lord blencathra: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 15 February (HL 5237), whether the primary role for RAF Voyager is as an air refuelling tanker or to provide VIP transport for Government ministers and the royal family; and if the latter, what is their rationale for painting the plane in camouflage colours.

earl howe: I refer my noble Friend to the answer I gave on 15 February 2017 to Question number HL5237. The primary role of the RAF Voyager aircraft in question is air-to-air refuelling.

Department for Work and Pensions

Christmas Bonus

lord brooke of alverthorpe: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many pensioners received the £10 Christmas Bonus in 2016.

lord henley: 12,467,000 pensioners in Great Britain received the Christmas bonus in 2015/16, the latest year for which figures are currently available.

Christmas Bonus

lord brooke of alverthorpe: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the purpose of the £10 Christmas Bonus; and what assessment they have made of the extent to which that purpose is being achieved.

lord henley: The Christmas Bonus was introduced as a simple one-off tax-free lump sum payment, paid to pensioners and working age people in receipt of certain qualifying benefits. Recipients include some of the most vulnerable members of society. The Government remains committed to helping both pensioners and others who receive these payments.

Christmas Bonus

lord brooke of alverthorpe: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what the £10 Christmas Bonus scheme costs to administer.

lord henley: Both Pensioners and working age people in receipt of certain benefits receive the Christmas Bonus. Christmas Bonus payments are usually automatically generated based on receipt of a qualifying benefit. The cost of doing this is not separately identifiable from the administrative costs of the qualifying benefits.

Christmas Bonus

lord brooke of alverthorpe: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the need of pensioners who are taxpayers for the £10 Christmas Bonus.

lord henley: The Christmas Bonus is paid to both pensioners and working age people who are in receipt of certain qualifying benefits, it is not just an old age benefit. Recipients include some of the most vulnerable members of society. In most cases the bonus is paid automatically with whichever qualifying benefit an individual receives, which ensures administration costs are kept to a minimum. The Government remains committed to helping both pensioners and others who receive these payments.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Animal Welfare

lord dubs: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have received from (1) Battersea Dogs and Cats home, and (2) other charities, about increasing the sentences for cruelty to animals.

lord gardiner of kimble: We have received a number of representations from animal welfare charities including the RSPCA, Blue Cross, Dogs Trust as well as Battersea Dogs and Cats Home supporting an increase in the maximum penalties for animal cruelty offences. We have also read the report by Battersea Sentencing for Animal Cruelty in England and Wales which supported an increase in the maximum penalty to five years’ imprisonment.

Food: Fraud

lord pendry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of evidence that some producers of honey are falsely labelling it as Manuka honey, what precautions are in place to monitor fraudulent practice within the honey industry; and what measures they intend to put in place to regulate the labelling of all food products in order to prevent fraud.

lord gardiner of kimble: Food business must ensure that their products are safe, accurately labelled and compliant with all relevant legislation. Local authorities are responsible for monitoring food, and carry out risk-based checks to ensure that businesses are compliant with the law. Potential breaches are taken seriously and local authorities will decide on the appropriate corrective action, consistent with UK legislation and proportionate to the nature of the breach. The Government has also set up the National Food Crime Unit to increase the capacity to identify, disrupt and prevent food crime. Under the General Food Law Regulation (EC) 178/2002 and the Food Information for Consumers Regulation (EU) 1169/2011, food labelling must not mislead the consumer. The Honey Regulations 2015 lay down compositional requirements for honey and require that when the floral origin of a honey is given, such honey must come wholly or mainly from that plant.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Letting Agents

baroness hayter of kentish town: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will make membership of a Client Money Protection Scheme mandatory for letting and managing agents.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: The Government encourages letting and management agents to join Client Money Protection schemes and encourages landlords and tenants to choose agents with Client Money Protection via the Safe Agent Kite Mark. Ministers are reviewing the report of the working group chaired by Baroness Hayter and Lord Palmer of Childs Hill, which considers the available evidence of Client Money Protection in the market today and provides recommendations on whether Client Money Protection should be made mandatory. Ministers will respond to this report setting out next steps in due course.

Department of Health

Dementia

lord crisp: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the role that small charities can play in providing care for adults with early-onset dementia.

lord crisp: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of (1) the barriers facing small charities in establishing facilities for the care of people with early-onset dementia, and (2) how these barriers could be overcome.

lord crisp: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the challenges faced by YoungDementia UK Homes in establishing a care home in Oxfordshire.

lord o'shaughnessy: The charitable sector, including small charities, plays a critical and integral role in the delivery of local care and support services, and provides a broad range of services to different client groups. Charities’ unique understanding of local communities, and the needs of the specific client groups they serve, mean that they are in a position to provide tailored, high value services. The Department has not made the specific assessments requested.

Health Services and Social Services: Older People

the marquess of lothian: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the Age UK briefing, The Health and Care of Older People in England, published in February.

lord o'shaughnessy: Age UK’s report highlights potential future demand on health and care services because of demographic pressures. Social care continues to be a key priority for this Government. The Government recognises it is critical in enabling older people to retain their independence and dignity.This is why, against the context of tough public sector finances, the Government has taken steps to protect social care services.However, the Government acknowledges that there is currently an immediate pressure on social care. That is why it has brought forward access to £900 million of additional funding for social care over the next two years through the Social Care Precept and Adult Social Care Support Grant.Local authorities will have access to £7.6 billion of new money for adult social care by 2019/20 – enough to raise spending in real terms over this Parliament.In addition, the Government has put in place reforms to reduce demands on care services by helping older people remain healthy and independent for as long as possible.

Doctors' List of Patients

lord blencathra: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is (1) the average number, and (2) the maximum permitted number, of patients per GP in England and Wales.

lord o'shaughnessy: The average number of patients per headcount general practitioner (GP) in England was 1,364 as at March 2016. Patients register with a practice, not an individual GP. There is no limit on the number of patients which a practice can have, but practices can close their list to new applications if they feel that they have insufficient resources to take on more patients.

General Practitioners: Opening Hours

lord blencathra: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to make it compulsory for every GP surgery to be open from 8am to 6pm on Mondays to Fridays, and if so, whether they will reduce funding for those surgeries which do not comply.

lord o'shaughnessy: The Government is committed to improving access to general practitioner (GP) services, both during core hours and at evenings and weekends. The new GP contract means that surgeries which regularly close for mornings or afternoons on a week day will lose their eligibility for the current extended hours scheme claimed by most practices (through the Directed Enhanced Service). This change will come into effect from October 2017. By 2020/21, everyone will have access to routine GP appointments at evenings and weekends, investment in general practice will increase to £12 billion per year, and there will be an extra 5,000 doctors in working in general practice.